Blad 113 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1938 - 1939

This page from a student registry was made sometime between 1930-1949 in The Hague, but the artist or maker is unknown. Looking at this, I can't help but notice the handscript and how it crosses over and intersects with the pre-printed grid lines. It reminds us that everything is built upon structure; the personal upon the impersonal. I'm drawn to the different weights and pressures of the various inks, and how some texts appear faded while others are dark and pronounced. Each entry is like a drawing, an individual mark, or a unique gesture, and the whole page becomes a kind of collaborative composition. Seeing these inscriptions reminds me of Cy Twombly’s use of handwriting, although here, the script is less poetic, more utilitarian. Like language itself, this piece reminds us that art is also about conversation. It suggests a story of education, and reminds us to consider the relationship between the personal and the bureaucratic, where individual lives meet institutional structures.